1997-98 NHL season
The 1997-98 NHL season was the 81st regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Twenty-six teams each played 82 games. The season lasted from October 1, 1997 to June 16, 1998. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Washington Capitals in four games. League Business This was the first season for the Carolina Hurricanes, who were previously known as the Hartford Whalers. The Hurricanes played their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum. This was the first season for Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who as of the 2006–07 NHL season is the longest-tenured NHL coach. The controversial "FoxTrax" puck system was last used this season as well. In August of 1998, the NHL signed a five-year, $600 million rights agreement with ABC Sports/ESPN. FOX elected not to use the system in the subsequent "lame duck" season. This was the last season that the Toronto Maple Leafs were in the Western Conference. Regular season The all-time record for most shutouts in a season, set at 127 just a year earlier was broken again as 160 shutouts were recorded, 13 of which were earned by Dominik Hasek, who set a League record with 11 teams shut-out. He zeroed the New York Rangers three times, and Los Angeles, Anaheim, Tampa Bay, Boston, Calgary, Washington, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Edmonton once each. Only two teams, the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings, averaged more than three goals scored per game. In addition, only one player, Jaromir Jagr reached the 100-point plateau during the regular season. Highlights Jari Kurri reached 600 goals in his career, finishing with 601. The Vancouver Canucks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim opened the season with a two game series in Tokyo, Japan; this was the 1st time the NHL played games outside of North America. Final standings ''Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points'' | valign="top" | |} | valign="top" | |} Scoring leaders ''Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points'' Stanley Cup playoffs Playoff bracket Conference quarterfinals Eastern Conference | valign="top" | |- | valign="top" | | valign="top" | |} Western Conference | valign="top" | |- | valign="top" | | valign="top" | |} Conference semifinals | valign="top" | |} | valign="top" | |} Conference finals | valign="top" | |} Stanley Cup final The 1998 Stanley Cup Finals were played in the 105th year of the Stanley Cup. The series was played between the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings and the Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals. The Red Wings were led by Captain Steve Yzerman, Coach Scotty Bowman, and Goalie Chris Osgood. The Capitals were led by Captain Dale Hunter, Coach Ron Wilson, and Goalie Olaf Kolzig. |} Scoring leaders ''Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points'' NHL Awards The NHL Awards took place in Toronto, Ontario All-Star teams Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1997-98 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): *Joe Thornton, Boston Bruins *Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins *Derek Morris, Calgary Flames *Olli Jokinen, Los Angeles Kings *Brendan Morrison, New Jersey Devils *Sheldon Souray, New Jersey Devils *Zdeno Chara, New York Islanders *Marc Savard, New York Rangers *Chris Phillips, Ottawa Senators *Marian Hossa, Ottawa Senators *Daniel Briere, Phoenix Coyotes *Marco Sturm, San Jose Sharks *Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks *Pavel Kubina, Tampa Bay Lightning *Danny Markov, Toronto Maple Leafs *Mattias Ohlund, Vancouver Canucks Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1997-98 (listed with their last team): *Brent Sutter, Chicago Blackhawks *Jari Kurri, Colorado Avalanche *Slava Fetisov, Detroit Red Wings *Kevin Lowe, Edmonton Oilers *Andy Moog, Montreal Canadiens *Bruce Driver, New York Rangers *Pat LaFontaine, New York Rangers *Joel Otto, Philadelphia Flyers *Michel Petit, Phoenix Coyotes *Mike Gartner, Phoenix Coyotes *Al Iafrate, San Jose Sharks *Kelly Hrudey, San Jose Sharks *Jeff Brown, Washington Capitals See also * List of Stanley Cup champions * 1997 NHL Entry Draft * 48th National Hockey League All-Star Game * National Hockey League All-Star Game * NHL All-Rookie Team References *Hockey Database *http://nhl.com/ Category:NHL seasons